Postby Dinah » Wed Mar 25, 2009 10:58 pm
The Malcolm of fanfic, on the whole, is an incredible bore. Since the show ended, he's been adopted by a number of writers -- mostly women I suspect -- who's turned him into something akin to a toddler's stuffed bunny: part of the time they're beating the crap out of him while the rest of the time is spent dressing him up in cute little outfits and treating him like a fuzzy little friend. The man -- the trained, professional security and armory officer -- is generally MIA.
The settings of the stories may change, but the same plot points always seem to surface (pardon the pun). 1) Malcolm is afraid of water, followed by it's ever popular companion piece Malcolm almost drowns. 2) Malcolm has problems with his family -- they weren't close and Dad didn't buy him a pony when he was a little boy. 3) if he isn't preparing to throw his life away in some incredibly stupid attempt to save someone or something, it isn't a real Malcolm story. 4) Only when Malcolm clings to life after sacrificing himself yet again...and again...and again, does he find out that his friends, i.e. Trip, Hoshi, and maybe Travis or Archer on a good day, really think he has value as a person. 5) Trip and Malcolm are friends although it's hard to see why; Malcolm seems to ignore any orders Trip gives and never listens to any of his advice. And 6) after Phlox once again saves his sorry ass, Malcolm, now bubbling with new-found self-esteem, joins Trip, Hoshi and his other friends of the moment in a heart-felt group hug.
I'm sorry but I don't see Malcolm's constant attempts to sacrifice himself as indicative of the actions of a warrior hero. To quote George Patton: "No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country."
Sorry for venting, but it just really bothers me than any semblance of Malcolm as a competent, trained, professional Starfleet officer constantly gets buried under layers and layers of this angsty goo. A officer who is constantly in sickbay or in his quarters recovering from some dread illness, severe emotional trauma, or physical injuries that would send a seasoned emergency room nurse running for cover, is of little use to anyone because he would never be available for duty. I've been so put off by these cookie-cutter stories that it's gotten to the point that I generally don't even look at a Malcolm story anymore. It's too bad. I think Malcolm could be an interesting character.